effects of pharmaceutical medications on male fertility

the number of couples seeking consultation for infertility problems has steadily increased over the past decade, affecting 10%-15% of the sexually active population. abnormal semen production, a male factor infertility (mfi), is thought to be the cause of up to 50% of all infertilities in developed countries. there are potentially many different causes of male infertility, including hormonal, anatomical, and secondary to exposure to exogenous substances. in many cases of mfi, a definitive cause for abnormalities is never identified. recently, the research community has given greater attention to identifying causes of mfi ranging from genetic y chromosome microdeletions to mechanisms of environmental damage on sperm production. still evolving, is a clear understanding of how many pharmaceutical medications may cause mfi, which is often treatable and reversible. in this review we will out-line the data regarding various pharmaceutical medications that have been investigated as possible causes of mfi.